| |

Striking Forms and Inky Hues Define This Vancouver Residence

Some of Canada’s most darling design vernacular is recorded within the historic walls of urban dwellings that continue to endear audiences. Architect Biran O’Brian of WORKS OFFICE, in collaboration with interior designer Gillian Segal, adds to the country’s rich architectural accomplishments with a charming residential renovation project in Vancouver’s enviable Annex neighborhood. Here, a distinct heritage is infused with modern ingenuity for a Victorian-era informed domicile contemporized through Art Deco detailing. Bold geometry, striking forms, and inky hues all help to bridge the gap between past and present visual languages while leaving room for dialogue into the future.

Modern, multi-story brick building with a combination of traditional red bricks and unique copper cladding featuring a circular window and contemporary design elements.

Rather than resist it, O’Brian’s structural solution capitalizes on the main facade’s whimsical composition, which comprises a few distinctive pieces original to the house’s construction. The angled wall off the front elevation and a previously underutilized bay window on the building’s south side are integral to the restructured relationship of local context with its current expression as well as its physical presence and expansion.

A small entryway features a black chair with a white cloth draped over it, a red side table with a vase of flowers, a black door, and a checkered floor. Two wall-mounted light fixtures are visible.

A modern dining room with round black chairs, a rectangular table, contemporary light fixtures, a textured wall, and large windows with curtains, all set on a geometric patterned rug.

“I’d say that I’m far more interested in working with and emphasizing the quirks and idiosyncrasies of buildings than I am in removing or rationalizing them,” O’Brian says. “In plan, the bay window was extrapolated into its implied circle. That circle became the singular rotunda of space that extends from the ceiling of the first floor up to the roof. Tangents and additional curves and circles emerge from that rotunda and move throughout the house.”

A modern dining room with a large oval table, dark chairs, and a unique overhead chandelier. The room features large windows with light curtains and a decorative plant on the table.

A bathroom with a large mirror, a marble countertop, a sink with a gold faucet, an orchid in a vase, and a framed picture on the wall.

The home’s curved partitions celebrate circulation as they anchor the volume vertically while providing cues for lateral movement through curvaceous tendrils that extend into individual rooms – features that echo Segal’s ethos. “We often live in such rectilinear spaces, curves always speak to me with the warmth  softness, and feminine grace they radiate,” she says. “They provide a great juxtaposition to some of the harder aspects of any space.”

A modern living room features a round skylight, striped sofa, two red armchairs, glass coffee table, metal chairs, floor lamp with a woven shade, and wall art. Background has dining area with hanging light.

Image of a modern, semi-circular rooftop window with sunlight streaming through, showcasing a geometric ceiling design with overlapping wooden and metal elements.

The 3,900-square-foot residence is only typical of modern new-builds as it unfurls programmatically: a sprawling open kitchen, dining, and living space on the ground floor; bedrooms and a study on the first floor; guest and principal suites on the second floor; and a lower level housing the lounge and gym. Spatial and aesthetic solutions, as teased by the exterior, are delightfully nuanced.

Modern kitchen with a large marble island, three stools, a brass faucet, and red cabinetry. Beige tiles cover the backsplash, and a contemporary ceiling light fixture is visible.

A kitchen with terra-cotta cabinets, a black oven with multiple knobs, a tiled backsplash, and a countertop with a vase holding a large flower. Cooking utensils are placed in a cup next to the oven.

The clients, a family of four, invite excitement and intrigue inside with treatments carefully curated by Segal to create interest from tension between existing elements and contemporary concepts. Stained wainscoting and cement tile applied in a classic checkerboard pattern reference historical traditions whereas unexpected textures, extruded walls, and unique approaches to daylighting appeal to contemporary sensibilities. Daring reds, dark greens, and deep blues exude grandeur from cabinets, countertops, carpets, and upholstery in primarily public areas contrasted by more private spaces awash in dreamier hues or creamy off-whites.

Modern kitchen and living area with light wood flooring, red cabinetry, curved white staircase, open shelving, and mesh chairs. Decor includes a wall-mounted plate and a magazine on the coffee table.

A person walks up a staircase in a modern white-walled building with curved architectural elements and a skylight.

Subversive home furnishings also heighten the awareness of duality as it exists in the home. Though dubious looking, the silver ‘chainmail’ chairs are surprisingly comfortable. And lighting fixtures by Anna Karlin and Josef Hoffman nod to the Art Deco era without being ostentatious resulting in approachable sculptural forms.

A staircase is shown from below, with curving white walls and a round window at the top letting in light. A line of spherical lights is mounted on the right wall.

A modern white staircase with wooden handrails, featuring a large abstract painting and a round ceiling light overhead.

“This project was a very paired down, modern interpretation – things were focused. Streamlined forms. Rich, bold, and unique materiality. While something truly authentic to Art Deco would be overwhelming in today’s world,” Segal explains. “Using select components and reinterpreting for this project created something that feels very warm, bold, special, and timeless.”

A bedroom with a neatly made bed featuring blue and gray bedding, a black nightstand with a lamp, framed artwork on the wall, and a large toy giraffe standing on the floor beside the bed.

A bathroom with a double sink vanity, marble countertop, striped wallpaper, and wall-mounted mirrors. Two vases with colorful flowers are placed on the counter.

A baby room features a wooden crib, an elephant plush toy, a rocking chair, a pink ottoman, a large animal-themed artwork, and a window with a roman shade. A modern chandelier is on the ceiling.

A neatly made bed with striped bedding is next to a wooden nightstand with two drawers. The nightstand has a vase of flowers, a book, and is lit by a wall-mounted light fixture above it.

A modern lounge area features a black leather chair with matching ottoman, a tall floor lamp, a side table with a plant, and a wall painting, all set against a light-colored wall with curved detailing.

A small bathroom with dark wooden cabinets and green marble countertop is visible through an open door. The room in the foreground has a black modern chair, a white stone side table, and wall art.

A modern bathroom features a green marble countertop with a sink, adjacent to a walk-in glass shower with a fixed showerhead and handheld sprayer, and a tiled floor.

A person walks down a staircase with minimalist design and geometric shapes, including a circular cutout and clean lines.

A minimalist, light-filled staircase with white walls, wooden steps, and a curved wooden handrail. The design features clean lines and a soft color palette.

A circular skylight in a ceiling reveals a view of a blue sky with some clouds.

A modern bedroom with a neatly made bed, grey pillows, beige bedding, a small bedside table with a vase of flowers, and a glass pendant light. A skylight above displays a sculptural decoration.

A minimalist interior with a white sculptural piece, two beige rectangular wall art pieces, and a small vase with yellow flowers on a white table.

A hallway with built-in wooden wardrobes on both sides, a chest of drawers with a vase of flowers and a picture frame, and a large mirror at the end.

A bathroom with a white freestanding bathtub, a small window, a round mirror, and a patterned beige floor. A striped stool is in front of a vanity, and a large skylight brightens the room.

A modern bathroom features a dual-sink vanity with marble countertops, two oval mirrors, a wall-mounted light fixture, and a striped stool. A small round mirror and decorative greenery are on the side counter.

To see more works by the collaborators visit gilliansegaldesign.com and worksoffice.com.

Photography by Ema Peter and Scott Norsworthy.

With professional degrees in architecture and journalism, New York-based writer Joseph has a desire to make living beautifully accessible. His work seeks to enrich the lives of others with visual communication and storytelling through design. When not writing, he teaches visual communication, theory, and design.

Similar Posts

  • 7 Best Online Interior Design Services of 2024 – Decorilla Online Interior Design

    A full-blown trend to stay, online interior design services are transforming the way we access interior design help. It’s the magic combination of professional design guidance, affordable prices, plus an easy and quick process that is attractive to people everywhere. These and so many wonderful experiences with our virtual interior design team have encouraged a… Read more »

    The post 7 Best Online Interior Design Services of 2024 appeared first on Decorilla Online Interior Design.

  • Messner: A childhood dream comes true

    At the foot of the Sciliar, in the picturesque area of Alpe di Siusi (Bolzano), the spirit
    of a barn is reborn as a home. The project, realised by noa* (network of architecture), has
    at its core, the South Tyrolean tradition combined with surprising features internally,
    resulting from design of visionary and unexpected spaces. An almost magical ambience is
    created, inspired by childhood memories. Keep tradition in mind, but at the same time move away so as to create an original
    identity, a new way of living, a different structuring of the domestic space, and to search
    inspiration from a childhood passed in the mountains. This, in summary, was the challenge
    faced by noa* in the project to construct a new home at Siusi in Sciliar, a construction to
    take the place of a deserted house in the centre of the village, with the original
    structure dating back to 1850. The job, completed in 2017, needs to be understood in its complex and delicate context. We
    are talking about South Tyrol, and a project executed at a height of 1100 a.s.l. at the
    foot of Alpe di Siusi, a part of the Dolomites recognised as a Unesco World Heritage due to
    its outstanding natural beauty. It was therefore extremely important to respect the
    parameters of the original structure and the urban planning requirements and regulations of
    the village. For Stefan Rier, founder, together with Lukas Rungger of the noa* studio, and
    in this instance ‘his own client’, the project was an opportunity to give a personal
    footprint to his own property. In this sense there was a move away from the traditional
    principles of spatial distribution, this being achieved in part by recalling memories of a
    childhood spent in the mountains. “We wanted the project to respect the aesthetics and the urban aspects of the village, a
    village where wooden barns alternate with plaster-fronted houses destined for farmers and
    the keeping of cattle.”, explains architect Rier. “With this in mind, we finished the
    exterior structure with a ‘coating’ in keeping with tradition: a wooden grid on all 4
    sides, just as is used for alpine barns. However, as far as the interior is concerned, I
    decided to leave tradition behind me, and thereby free the design from any preconceived
    limitations. In this way I was able to look forward…but also a little back in time to the
    beautiful years of my childhood”. The outcome of the project is a dwelling, having two aspects which confront each other in
    their style. The exterior represents the traditional alpine location, splendidly immersed
    in the local topography, whilst the interior boasts the visionary impulse, the surprise of
    a space freed from the general scheme of things, almost permeable, osmotic, and certainly
    innovative. On the ground floor there is a common area which spreads out almost in a ‘piazza’ fashion
    for (habitational)and interactional use: there is a dining table to enjoy with friends, an
    ample sized kitchen to accommodate more than one cook! The rest of the house develops in a
    vertical way and instead of the classical room division there are what can be described as
    ‘hanging boxes’, which are positioned at different heights and interconnected by stairs and
    walkways – they giving the sensation of walking up a mountain path towards the peak. The
    hallways are carefully designed so that, apart from their connecting function, they
    accommodate other essential areas such as the library and open ‘bathroom’ areas with tubs
    and showers (only the WC are closed in). The entire structure is conceived in a way that
    the further one goes up the level of privacy and intimacy is heightened. The highest ‘box’
    which features a sauna opens out to the splendid view of the Santner mountain. The revolutionary distribution of the interior spaces can be noted also from the exterior,
    and a sort of counterpoint is created with the traditional presentation of the exterior
    itself. To the north the two boxes of the bedrooms, finished in bronze, can be seen behind
    the wooden trellis shell, and as a result the material contrast is evident, while to the
    south it is sauna box which protrudes the glass facade. It is an architectural concept, both extremely innovative and courageous in nature, but
    which also has the value of being able to evoke an atmosphere of time past. Viewing the
    structure from a distance, the larch framework which supports the hanging boxes with its
    roof supported by 12 metre high wooden columns, seems to be the outline of an old barn. “Thinking about it, I spent a lot of my childhood playing in barns”, underlines Stefan
    Rier, “and one of my lasting and favourite memories is of when I used to climb high up in
    the barns and then throw myself down into the hay. Maybe if I had not had that experience,
    I would never have come to design this house …”. THE STRUCTURE: A DIALOGUE BETWEEN TIME PAST AND TIME PRESENT
    The house mirrors the construction type of the location’s rural buildings. On the stone
    foundation (10x8m), is a wooden structure in larch on three levels, and which supports the
    gable roof, typical of the village’s dwellings. A wooden trellis covers the whole house in
    a shell-like manner, screening the light and heat of the sun in the hotter periods, and as
    a whole it is suggestive of the typical structures of alpine barns. Two boxes, one in
    bronze and one a glass structure ‘peak out’ from the trellis, to the north and south
    respectively, and so revealing to the exterior that there is something complex to the
    interior layout. To the south there is a glass facade and a terrace which opens out to the
    magnificent view over the landscape of the Dolomites, a view which is dominated by the
    splendid sight of the Sciliar massif. THE INTERIOR SPACES: A STATIC CHALLENGE
    Inside the house, the distribution of spaces and functions is really unusual. The ‘boxes’
    which house the three bedrooms are supported by the wooden beam structure, visible in its
    totality (12 metres high). The bedrooms are designed as micro-homes, each one having its
    own particular design, these boxes seem to almost ‘hang’ in the ample volume of the
    interior (1,100 cubic metres). One gains access via a staircase and a walkway system, which
    as well as having a connecting function, accommodate the ‘bathroom’ areas with tubs and
    showers (only the WC are closed in). On the last floor, a box plays host to the sauna with
    a panoramic view, extending out of the southern front. Preceding the sauna, there is a
    book-lounge with an antique majolica stove, which has been taken from the pre-existing
    building. The library together with a cloakroom area complete the private spaces on the
    higher levels.
    The ground floor is a large open space with three diverse ‘island’ functions: the
    relaxation area, the dining area, and the kitchen, resolved with a large working surface
    feature in natural brass, and decorated on the sides with artisan earthenware tiles. MATERIALS
    As well as incorporating materials having a local tradition – wood and stone – the project
    introduces others of a more contemporary nature, in some cases recalling a Mediterranean
    style. The floor resin, giving uniformity to the ground floor appearance, alternates
    between baked clay and sea-blue tiles, the same as used for the side covering of the
    kitchen’s work surface. The brass gives brilliant warm tones to the furniture details and
    to the work surface which also incorporates the cooking essentials and sink. The staircase,
    in finely worked steel recalls the grates of Arabian tradition, creating a chiaroscuro
    effect which is extremely unusual for the Alpine environment. Furniture and Cloth
    The furniture has all been produced to design specification, adhering to a zero-kilometre
    regime. Attention to detail has been scrupulous, as has the search for original solutions
    from both a formal and functional stance. Cloth chosen plays an intricate game with wood in creating an atmosphere almost theatrical
    in kind. Flowing blue drapes act almost as stage curtains in enclosing various spaces and
    giving different and new perspectives. There has also been a coming together of texture and
    décor for the box-like bedrooms, this evident even in the wallpaper in blue tones, and so
    creating a functional soundproofing barrier. Light
    The project strives to make the most of natural light: to the south the facade is a
    complete glass construction, the light being filtered by the external wooden grid
    positioned at 2.5 metres from the principal structure, whilst the jutting out roof shades
    protect the interior from the extreme heat of the summer months. On the roof, a skylight
    opens to the east providing another source of light. To the north there are windows.
    As for internal lighting, in the very high living area, there are suspension lights to
    guarantee sufficient light and in particular for the specific functional areas (dining and
    kitchen areas). Many of the lamps in the house have been design created.